Take it as red – we are all right behind Danielle

Danielle mania is spreading through Urmston as the rising star prepares to make her final bid to become a West End star. Teenager Danielle Hope is in the final of BBC One’s Over the Rainbow search to find the new Dorothy tomorrow night – and people in the town have been busy showing her there’s no place like home.

Danielle mania is spreading through Urmston as the rising star prepares to make her final bid to become a West End star.

Teenager Danielle Hope is in the final of BBC One’s Over the Rainbow search to find the new Dorothy tomorrow night – and people in the town have been busy showing her there’s no place like home.

The teenager won judges’ hearts as she got through another nail-biting elimination last weekend.

She will now be up against Sophie Evans and Lauren Samuels in the final sing-off.

And if the reaction from her home town is anything to go by, the 18-year-old is a guaranteed winner as traders have been busy filling their windows with posters, wearing ruby slippers and even creating an edible homage to the talented teen.

Family friend and master cake baker Richard Day has been creating delicious treats in honour of Danielle, including her own Wizard of Oz-themed cake.

Mr Day, who owns Richard’s on Flixton Road, said: "We wanted to get behind her because she’s a local girl, so we’ve made her a special cake. It’s been in the window and people have been giving us the thumbs up as they go past.

"We’ve also made her an 18th birthday cake for when she returns and a box of cupcakes which she took back to the other girls."

Next door at Lily’s Coffee Lounge, Danielle is the talk of the shop, says owner Carol Cornthwaite-Jones.

She said: "Everyone is behind her wishing her well.

"All the shops are backing her – we think she’s fantastic, a natural at what she does."

While posters are proudly up on display across the town centre from Bernard Murray’s butchers to barbers No 1 for Men, one store has gone even further.

Danielle’s former dance tutor Julie Bowyer has been busy decorating the Traditional Sweetie Shop in rainbow colours – with her own ruby slippers, or rather stilettoes, at the centre of the display.

She said: "It was always her singing that really shone with Danielle. She really deserves to win and has the real innocence of Dorothy." In a reversal of fortune last weekend, after previously being put in the bottom two, a relieved Danielle was the first to be told she would be among the final three after her rendition of There Can Be Miracles won praise from Andrew Lloyd Webber for an ‘extraordinary’ performance.

To catch Danielle in the final, tune in to BBC 1 on Saturday from 7pm. For video of her supporters in Urmston log on to www.metronews.co.uk